SQL Server solutions have the flexibility of being deployed on premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment, and can be managed through a common and familiar tool set. And new tools make it even easier to build back-up and disaster recovery solutions using Microsoft Azure, through an easy route to the cloud for on-premises SQL Server databases. This means you can use existing skills to take advantage of Microsoft’s global datacenters.

You can use SQL Server for business and analytics workloads as well as OLTP.

SQL Server 2016 - capabilities

SQL server on-premises

Deployment support for on-premises infrastructure (physical or virtual)

Support for hybrid deployment

SQL server on Microsoft Azure cloud platform (IaaS)

Fully featured Microsoft SQL server on the Azure platform.

Image-based deployment with different SQL editions (Enterprise, Standard) to save cost of initial deployment and configuration

Cost includes operating and SQL Server licenses

Save time in licensing, maintenance, hardware purchase and avoid the hardware refresh cycle.

Fully integrated with on-premises infrastructure and data sources.

SQL server 2017

SQL server 2017 is a major step in the evolution of Microsoft SQL Server, bringing together a unified platform with the following features:

Support for Windows and Linux

Support for Docker containers on Windows and Linux

Support for Linux container on Docker in macOS

Real-time intelligence using built-in Python and R integration

Hybrid ready

Selected projects where we've implemented, upgraded or built upon the Microsoft SQL Server platform